Happy Birthday (everyone)!

First of all – I would like to wish a number of my friends a wonderful birthday. I think I have more friends born on 11/28 than any other day of the year. Interestingly, each has a sun that is opposite to mine by one or two degrees.

As a Gemini (with Mercury in Gemini), I really appreciate the Gemini-Sagittarius dipole. Gemini represents logic – Sagittarius philosophy. Gemini sees the details – Sadge the big picture. Gemini and Sadge understand each other’s need for freedom and their dualistic nature. I love being a Gemini, but wish I was a Sagittarian!

As I write this, the Gemini moon has entered the penumbral shadow of the earth and approaches its exact fullness directly opposite the Sagittarius sun. When I woke this morning before dawn, I could see the glowing yellow moon as it approached the western horizon. Jupiter glistened just above it. Unfortunately, it set behind the trees before entering the shadow (by mere minutes). The closer it got to the horizon, the brighter the sky became with the approaching dawn. It really was a spectacular morning (and still is)!

Before getting into the chart for the eclipse, I do have to share how today’s astrology touches my natal chart – for those who might be interested. My sun is at 5 degrees Gemini. So this full moon eclipse (at 6 degrees) sits directly on my sun. At the same time, Venus is about to cross my IC, and Mars and Pluto are sextile to it. [I’m still sorting out what all of this means for me.]

Now on to the chart: I must confess that I didn’t see this coming. I knew the eclipse was approaching, but I didn’t look at the chart for it before today and therefore didn’t notice how profound it is. In my opinion, this eclipse truly sets off the astrology for the imminent (and eminent?) shifts ahead – from fall to winter, from 2012 to 2013, and from where we are now to where we’re going (wherever that is).

Look at the chart for a moment and just take it all in. Even if it’s Greek to you, you’ve seen enough of my charts to know that they rarely look like this. I have even reduced orb to 5 degrees and restrained from drawing lines for the semi-sextile aspects, which I never draw anyway. Even under those constraints, my jaw rests comfortable on the floor.

What you see here is the Gemini Full Moon Lunar Eclipse activating and connecting all the other aspects. In fact, using an orb of 5, the full moon is conjunct Jupiter! So take everything you see here and multiply it by 12 because that’s what Jupiter does!

If you remember back a few posts, I mentioned all of the pairings. Well, that still applies. Here’s the list for today:

• Venus-Saturn
• Mars-Pluto
• Chiron-Neptune
• Moon-Jupiter

And at least one member of each pair aspects every other pair!!!! (And I didn’t even count the sun-moon opposition.)

So whatever this lineup is about, the sun is setting it afire, Jupiter is multiplying it, and the moon is making it personal to both sides of us.

If I had to pick one aspect of this chart to elevate to theme level, I would choose the T-Square formed by the sun, full moon, and Chiron. First, I guess it is the realist in me that always notices t-squares. Second, the sun-moon opposition won’t last long. And third, if you orient the chart for Sagittarius (happy birthday to all of you), then the t-square sits just off of the major axes.

Every year, the sun in Sagittarius reminds us to have a little fun, to celebrate what is important, and to stay light hearted even in the darkest part of the year (for most of us). Those born with sun in Sadge do the same thing. Here in the US, it is no wonder that Thanksgiving and the ramp up to Christmas both occur during Sagittarius. We celebrate the dark by displaying colorful lights.

The Gemini moon connects our two sides like our heart that sits in the middle of our left and our right. Geminis may have the edge on dual personality, but we all have two sides. Really, we have multiple sides, but every aspect has its opposite. The whole chart is set up that way. We are both giver and receiver. We are parent and child. We are father and mother (to that which we create and nurture). We are teacher and learner. We are healer and one who is healing.

Gemini – the logic, in the head, air sign – is also moody and emotional. That’s because mutable air is the most changeable, and the moon is what moves the quickest through the Zodiac.

Eclipses, as I’ve mentioned before, tend to bring things out of the closet. An additional duality that we each possess is that which we show to the world, and that which we don’t. Many refer to the shadow self, but even if it’s not dark per se, it is private.

Since the moon is moving through the earth’s shadow right now, let talk about that.

Using fear to coerce people into doing what’s considered right is not right, despite the fact that both government and religion do this. Government threatens to lock you up if you break the law and religion damns you to hell or karma if you do wrong. Even on Facebook, people are constantly using fear and peer pressure to get people to do what one deems right. We all may agree that texting while driving is unwise and cruelty to animals is unkind, but to display pictures of tragic accidents or harmful acts to coerce compliance is not a true or inspired form of guidance. In my thinking, these images do more harm than good. They get stuck in your brain and affect you by expanding fear.

Religious dogma (control via fear of the wrath of God) is the shadow side of Sagittarius. Being two-faced (preaching good while sinning behind the scenes) is the shadow side of Gemini. And square to both of these is Chiron the wounded healer in Pisces, where he is simultaneously immersed in his own wounds and empathically feeling everyone else’s.

When we are wounded, we hurt others. Yet through experiencing woundedness we become healers of self first and then have the opportunity to become healers of others next.

The way I see it, this t-square is a huge astrological neon sign, which is all about healing the planet (and everything and everyone on it). The sun in Sagittarius tells us that we can only heal through love and the Gemini moon says that love has to start with those around us. Sending your love (and money) to Africa is great, but if you’re hurting the people around you, you’re still doing more harm than good.

The reconciliation of the t-square is some of the oldest wisdom around: do to others what you would like done to you and think globally-act locally. Recognize that everyone has wounds, and that the source of all evil is fear. Then through consoling pain and easing fear, we can heal everyone and everything. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes not only allows you to understand where they’re coming from, but also allows you to see yourself from the outside.

This chart is very active and intense. Pluto-Mars conjunction if very yang – a stellium in Scorpio very yin. The t-square includes all three duality signs, and I already mentioned the four duos. All of the green you see is a back and forth, seesaw kind of connection. Talk about Duality!!

If I were one to truly believe that a hugely profound shift in consciousness (or physicality) were about to happen, this is exactly the kind of chart I would expect to see preceding it. The energy in this chart is like the moment before the shell cracks, the minutes before supernova, or the frenetic vibration an electron experiences just before it takes the literal quantum leap to the next higher shell.

Astrology is a glimpse into a greater reality – namely that of our solar system – a large-scale model of the universe that moves much slower than the world we experience. I suspect the shift that this portends will be gradual rather than abrupt. Yet time seems to be moving so much faster than it used it. We might not pop into a different reality in 23 days, but we might wake up in 6 months and take inventory of just how much has changed in a trip halfway around the sun.